Chapter 164: Blood Oath

Kael

Elira’s footsteps faded slowly down the corridor, light and soft, each step seemingly dimming the air she left behind. Her fragile smile still lingered in the room, holding onto the stone like borrowed sunlight—it was desperate, fleeting, and based on a lie.

She had believed me completely. She believed the sudden, fabricated lead that I had offered. And, Goddess forgive me, I did not regret telling that lie for a single second.

She desperately needed that hope. ...